Melanie Fairfield

A Bright Key Melanie Fairfield

Miss Polly Dutton is well pleased at having survived her first season without an offer. Her parents' estrangement has disenchanted her with the idea of marriage, and she much prefers to devote her energies to her father's crusade to rescue climbing boys. Enter "handsome Sidney" Pettingill, always amusing but hardly a social reformer, whom Polly's best friend, the new Marchioness of Sterne, advises her to approach for help with the campaign. Polly succeeds in opening Sidney's eyes to the chimney sweeps' plight, but he is also stunned to discover the revolutionary fire concealed beneath Polly's serene exterior, and he launches a campaign of his own to win her stubborn heart. Their work for the cause takes them on a journey of mutual discovery from the salons of London to the verdant fields of Sussex, from the glittering tiers of Covent Garden to the dangerous alleyways of Seven Dials. This is the fourth in the captivating Carlisle Chronicles that evoke England's Regency period with engaging and sharply-drawn characters, vivid romance, witty dialogue, and cameos by real historical figures.